Wracked with angst over the fate of our beloved and horribly misgoverned Republic, the DiploMad returns to do battle on the world wide web, swearing death to political correctness, and pulling no punches.

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We live in a time of government by con men, women, and those of flexible and reassignable gender. In the last few days this bitter truth ha...

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Political Stuff

Dealing with two sick dogs. When my dogs get sick, that's it. All other activities get suspended. I am wracked with guilt whenever these guys get sick or hurt in any way: I feel that I have violated a key tenet of the ancient pact between dog and man, to wit, man shall protect dog from harm. The Diplowife (ret) and I took them to our very good South African vet who determined that they had picked up a nasty intestinal infection at the dog park; he has put them on antibiotics, probiotics, and a special high fiber diet. The boys, of course, refuse to cooperate; they will not allow me to stuff the meds down their throats.

Ssshhh! They're finally napping after eating a bit of the new diet, but without much enthusiasm. That leaves me a few minutes to comment on stuff, just stuff . . .

OK, the GOP debate.

Meh . . . it was bland. I don't say that because The Donald did not attend, but because by now we all can do the Great Kreskin routine of predicting what each candidate will say in response to the predictable queries. The Fox moderators did not play at the top of their game; their questions seemed a rehash of stuff we've heard before. I have to wonder if we do not have too many of these debates. As with even the best blogger--ahem--a politician in a long campaign finds that he or she repeats lines. That was probably OK back in the day when we did not have millions of different mass media outlets picking up and apart anything said anywhere at any time. In these days of info-overload, frankly, it's hard to remain fresh.

That said, I thought Rubio did best; he came off as articulate, passionate, and as somebody who has thought things through. Cruz, normally quite good, was flat, and his jokes did not go over well. The others? We've heard it before.

Did Trump make a mistake by skipping the debate because of his feud with Megyn Kelly? I have no idea and don't think anybody else does. Nearly every prediction or observation made about Trump--including by this humble blogger--has been wrong. He does and says things no other candidate dares, and that does not hurt him and often, in fact, helps him. Really quite remarkable. Would he make a good President? I don't know. Would he be better for America than Obama, Clinton, Sanders, Biden? I would have to answer in the affirmative--but that's a low bar. Is he the best candidate? I don't know. I, personally, fluctuate among Walker, Cruz, Rubio, even Fiorina. By the way, I thought Carly Fiorina had the best line: "Hillary Clinton has escaped prosecution more times than El Chapo." Brilliant! Heads all across the progressive universe exploded in outrage. Quite funny. Progressives have such a hard time with truth-telling.

As noted before, it does not appear Hillary's email troubles will go away. In fact, they look to be getting worse. We learn today that at least 22 emails on her private server cannot be released--even in heavily redacted form--because of the very high classification of the material they contain. The Clinton response? Stuff is over classified. Kinda missing the point, no? That's not Hillary's call. I might think it ridiculous to have a 70 mph speed limit on the freeway, and that I alone should be allowed to do 90 mph, but . . .

The American public, therefore, will not see emails already seen by foreign intelligence officers and rulers in Russia, China, and Iran, along with several hundred teenaged hackers from Brazil to Singapore to Nigeria. Maybe Kerry can ask his friends in Tehran to free the Clinton emails. Bottom line, and in all seriousness, Clinton belongs in jail. Joe Biden put on your spurs! You have to save the Dems from themselves . . .

The boys are awake. The little guy, if you can call a 100-lb dog little, has run to the back fence to argue with the obnoxious neighbor. Now, the big guy has joined him on stage. I have to go break up that debate . . .

42 comments:

Friends accuse me of being 'pro Trump' (as though that's a bad thing, I honestly don't know)... but I say the same thing... I don't get to vote for the candidate of my choice... that would present a *very* high bar for my vote. Instead, I only have to be able to stomach supporting someone who's "better than the other"... and when it comes to either hillaryous or bernie, it's pretty easy...What I do like about Trump, is that he gets the media in a tizzy while generally saying almost nothing of note. Does it *matter* whether Trump thinks Bush shares some responsibility for 9/11 happening on his watch? Fundamentally, no.. it really doesn't matter... but the media just couldn't get enough of it.

There's another guy who was good at capturing media attention while saying nothing of substance, but he was the media's guy from get go... and he's almost out of office.

I'm the same way with my dogs so you can only imagine how my last 6 weeks has gone since I had to amputate my male GSD's front leg because he shattered his shoulder bone so badly, it was impossible to set. He never leaves my side and is just getting used to hopping about now. Quite the difference.

I wonder how Hillary can escape prosecution for her felonies? Any other person would have been arrested a long time ago. It speaks volumes about the Democrat Party and their supporters. If she does have dirt on Obama/Jarrett, I can only hope it all comes out when Comey does his job. If she walks, the FBI will be forever tarnished.

Mr. Mad,"-because of the very high classification of the material they contain" it is rumored that they contain her actual pant's suit size.The e mail deal for Obama may have started out as his insurance policy for when Hillary became president. I just have this feeling that it's gotten away from the control of the Administration and the Clintonites. The only thing as bad as an indictment is the drawn out revelations during a political run.Again I say, there is this "feel" I have that the Clinton's time has passed.

Sort-of off-topic: I was staying at my sister's house and used olive oil instead of cuticle oil during a manicure. Her little dog (a mostly-Teddy-Roosevelt-terrier mutt named Minnie) could not stay away, to the point that I had to wash my hands right away.

Little did I know that my sister adds olive oil to the dog food to keepMinnie "regular".

But a good commentary on the debate. I am frankly tired of hearing the name of the supposed GOP front-runner, and I mean for the word "supposed" to modify both "GOP" and "front-runner". He cannot disappear soon enough for me.

But an interesting thing happened during that debate: I grew tired of Cruz' glibness and his facial mannerisms, and I came to prefer Rubio. I am still distressed by what I perceive as Rubio's greatest weakness: trying to be all things to all people. He needs to stand up and show us who he really is; to let us know what he believes in and what he stands for. Which is fundamentally why I prefer Fiorina.

A question, though: will the religious testimonies of the leading candidates help or hurt them? I find it slightly off-putting when Huckabee or Rubio tell us they are born-again Christians. I guess it's a holdover from the distaste I felt when Carter told us the same thing.

John 3:5, in response to:-- Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”

- “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.[c] 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You[d] must be born again.’ 8 The wind[e] blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

The concept of 'born again' is pretty fundamental to Christianity. Personally I have a general distaste for politicians 'courting' Christian voters, and more specifically when they're pretty obviously trying to "burnish their Christian credentials".

Personally I think Huckabee has stood out in this. Many politicians flocked to the popularity of the 'dugger' family, and almost all of them went running for the hills when the molestation scandal hit. Huckabee, on the other hand, seems to have approached it more in the spirit of the new testament.

Glibness? Facial mannerisms? How do you find him glib? Sad that one's "facial mannerisms" can annoy you sufficiently for you to transfer your preferences to another. I find Cruz to be the most straighforward of all the candidates and the closest to walking the walk, albeit with a few missteps along the way. What bothers me about Cruz is his father. I have met him and he frightens me. Ted and Rafael have a close relationship and my concern is the influence Raphael will have on the presidency. Having said that Trump wouldn't know the Constitution if you hit him with the Federal Register.

I'm kinda torn... I think Hillary is a terrible candidate and ill suited to the model of commander in chief of the republic handed down to us.But we're no longer the heady, altruistic, loving people we might have been in the past. When it comes down to it, Hillary is 'pro Hillary' above all and absolutely everything else. I have no doubt that if a few murders would get her the Presidency, she wouldn't even blink. It's 24x7 'me me me'. She's pretty much the candidate who most represents the contemporary people of this nation. To vote for someone else almost seems disenfranchising.

I found him glib in the way he tried to make light of previous statements and votes. I did not think his explanation of his immigration vote was straightforward -- he was just deflecting a charge Rubio made as superficially as he could. That was what I would call glib.

As for his facial mannerisms, we all weigh subtle bodily clues in our everyday personal interactions. I could still support him, but the message I was receiving during the debate was a lack or candor on his part. That, plus the fact I get at least three fund-raising appeals from his campaign per day with no recognition of prior support from me, and the negative ads he is airing to attack Rubio in Iowa are making it ever harder for me to support him.

I had numerous typos. I shall attempt to correct them this time around. I find it peculiar that you found him glib. You'll have to point out at what point he was glib. Frankly I find his explanation of his amemdment a little weak as well. If I were to assign him a personality type, based on 4 quadrant pop psychology, I would call him an analytical, an abstract sequential, or a contemplative, depending on which model you choose but in all of them he matches the description of one not given to random action, one who is methodical and task oriented. My knowledge of his campaign strategy bears this out. I sat with his father in a local stratehy session for 2 hours and I can assure his strategy is nothing if not methodical, flawed but methodical. I disagreed with it and decided to not work on the campaign in Florida because I thought it was flawed and ultimately will fail. His facial expressions are largely part of his facial characteristicse. His face is unfortunate. It reminds me of Grandpa on the Munsters. As for email, I ge them from the hidlebeast campaign. Not to appear flip, but no big deal. I have NEVER supported a democratic candidate, even when I was a Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Zero Population Growth, United Farm Workers and Earth Day volunteer and organizer. Cruz' ads may have been attack ads but they were factual. If stating fact is negative then so be it. As a resident of Florida I supported Rubio based on his declared opposition to illegal immigration and amnesty. In Rubio's senate race against Christie he adamantly swore he was opposed to illegal immigration and amnesty. Yet he subseqently supported S.744. In June of last year he openly declared he was supportive of work permits for illegals leading to permanent residency (green cards), which means, a path to citizenship. To accuse Cruz and support Rubio because of what you deem "negative" ads seems somewhat hypocritical given Rubio's attacks on Cruz earlier this month. There is no way I can possibly support Rubio. He lied to us in Florida. When he ran against Christie I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Since then he has proven that he is what I always thought he was, just another flip flop, photogenic politician.

"Did Trump make a mistake by skipping the debate because of his feud with Megyn Kelly? "I have read that the reason he cancelled may have been a plan by Google and Fix to ambush him with three Muslim "activists" in the debate to ask him about his anti-Muslim statements. Apparently, they are Google employees. One was the woman expelled from his rally last week.

as hillary's email scandal gets better and better (or worse and worse, take your pick), i become more amazed at the gymnastics that she and her supporters do to absolve her of dishonesty, criminal guilt, managerial incompetence and professional irresponsibility.

if there is one takeaway from obama's reign, it is that managerial competence is essential to being in charge, dont ya think, regardless of one's political bent. and it is even more essential if one is a big govt kinda guy or gal. the next potus should know how to make things (govt) work properly. va, obamacare, state's visa system, irs, (im sure there are more examples of screwups, but they dont come to mind) all have been expensive failures.

hillary complained about state's lousy computer system that we all suffered under, and did nothing at all to fix it. instead, she made her own expensive, extralegal way around the mess, and let the rest of us flounder and cope as best as we could. she was in charge, and she willingly abandoned her sworn duties. how is ready to run anything?

if i were a leftist that would disqualify hillary from changing my lightbulbs, let alone running what is left of the free world. since im hardly a leftist, imho, hillary's experience makes her eminently qualified to wear a one piece orange jumpsuit with coordinating ankle and wrist bracelets.

If the Donald wins the GOP nomination, I'll hold my nose and vote for him.

The major task is to see that the Hildabeast is either caged or, in the more likely event that our corrupt legal system protects one of its own, exposed for the dishonest, corrupt, incompetent nincompoop she is.

We need to stop calling these things "debates." At best, they are moderated Q&A sessions. You want a debate? Sit Cruz, Trump, and Rubio down at a table, and tell them they have 90 unmoderated minutes on camera. Let them sort it out. It would be more revealing and more useful to the voters than all of the ink spilt in my lifetime by the pundits.

Maybe the American People can get a GO FUND ME Page, and post a reward to any foreign government, or employee of a foreign intelligence agency (or hackers for that matter), to present their proof by openly turning the information over in a televised broadcast. That way Americans can see the proof of her treasonous acts.

As long as the RNC and DNC allow Hillary to run for president, neither party is worthy of the American People. But then maybe they are just the same at EU politicians, e.g., representing international and personal interests to determent of those people in their country(s).

No doubt you're right that the RNC (still more the DNC) is unworthy of the American people. But I don't see how the RNC can be said to "allow" Hillary to run for president. For that matter, since they couldn't stop her if they wanted to, I don't see how the DNC can be said to "allow" Hillary to run for president, any more than the RNC can be said to "allow" Trump to run for president.

Yes, I do think they are in varying degrees like EU politicians, and all other politicians at all times and places, in representing special, sometimes international, ideological and material interests to the detriment of their constituents at large. As students of public choice, we are unsurprised, are we not?

About Me

W. Lewis Amselem, long time US Foreign Service Officer; now retired; served all over the world and under all sorts of conditions. Convinced the State Department needs to be drastically slashed and reformed so that it will no longer pose a threat to the national interests of the United States.